Since we're at it I'm 33. I applied - and briefly started - grad school back in 2005 straight from undergrad and it was one of the silliest decisions I made. I know lots of people who have done that and it's been great for them but I was not at a stage in my own interests, ambitions and temperament where I could do that. I got professional work in the field instead and have been doing that since. In a lot of ways that has made the application more tricky, and I find myself wondering whether admissions committees will look at what I've done and think I should be applying for the professional masters instead of the research PhD, even though this is what I've wanted to do since I was about 18. Add in that I'm not from the US and decided to only apply to, ahem, stretching schools since I was only crossing the Atlantic if I was getting a program noticeably better than what I could get on this side (especially since I can earn here from consulting alongside), So I guess where I'm leading is - Harvard and Yale, will you please hurry up!